Computer Science

"The Case for Improving U.S. Computer Science Education"

Computer science classes, as they're currently operating in the nation's schools, are insufficient to meet the nation's growing demand for jobs in that field, according to a new report.

The analysis released last week by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation draws on data from Code.org to project that by 2020, the U.S. labor market will be 1 million qualified graduates short of the 1.4 million it will need to meet industry demand.

Among the problems cited in the report are: a shortage of qualified teachers to teach computer science in K-12 public schools; a focus on basic computer literacy and coding over more-complex knowledge of programming paradigms, algorithms, and data structures; class cancellations caused by underenrollment; and a tendency for computer science classes to be offered as electives rather than core subjects.